


Tentacle Things I Like About You!

by LadyAngelique, Mystrana



Category: Captain America (Movies), Captain America - All Media Types
Genre: Anal Sex, Bucky's got a big dick, Consentacles, Despite the title, First Kiss, First Time Together, Fluff, Hand Jobs, M/M, Overstimulation, Top!Bucky, aka porn with a whisper of plot, as much of a slow burn as I could cram into my time limit, bottom!Steve, creature power!au, dating/courtship, it morphed his kitten mark into a lion mark, not a movie AU, steve still got the serum, tentacles!Bucky, touch starved!Steve
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-03
Updated: 2018-07-03
Packaged: 2019-06-04 17:10:13
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 16,973
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15151796
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyAngelique/pseuds/LadyAngelique, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mystrana/pseuds/Mystrana
Summary: Living in the future hasn’t been easy for Steve Rogers, but at least he doesn’t have to worry about standing out because of his creature mark -- a lot more people have them these days. His past of being bullied for his lion mark is just that -- the past, though the memories of being beaten up still color his reaction to people trying to touch him in the present.Steve joins the Avengers, a group of people who use their creature marks for good. And when he gets a chance to meet Bucky, a handsome agent with a tentacle mark who seems to like Steve?Well, Steve might finally be open to letting someone touch him again.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Created for the Captain America RBB 2018!
> 
> I was SO LUCKY to grab this art and prompt as a pinch hit!! Thanks to [Glide-thru](https://glide-thru.tumblr.com/) for being amazing! You had so much background information for me to work with, and it's such a shame we only got a week and a half to pull this together.
> 
> And of course, a huge thanks to [ Agentcoop](https://iamagentcoop.tumblr.com/), who COULD have pitched a fit when I told her I had 17k words to beta, but instead went through and pointed out a couple of really big issues for me to fix. Thanks my friend! :)
> 
> Please enjoy!  
> ~Mystrana

 

 

“Welcome to the Avengers.” Director Nick Fury gestured for Steve to take a seat in one of the large leather chairs. “HR insists we show the video, so sit down and make yourself comfortable.”

Steve’s lion tail twitched behind him, curious. He held his standard issue uniform in his hands as he did as instructed, focusing on the screen that had shown up behind Nick.

“Who are the Avengers?” asked a female voice as the screen lit up with a video clip of several people projecting all sorts of animal features -- Steve saw someone with spider legs, someone flying with falcon wings, someone punching the ground with fists as big as a gorilla’s. They were all fighting against a group of people projecting squid tentacles.

“Formed under the guidance of SHIELD in the late 20th century, the Avengers fight against those who would bring chaos and destruction to the world where many people now manifest with creature marks.”

Steve nodded as he watched someone projecting hawk eyes aim a bow and take down one of the bad guys.

“The world is a different place than when you were coming of age,” Nick interjected as he paused the film on an image of a person shrinking down to the size of an ant, projecting tiny ant antennae.

“Yeah, I’ve noticed,” Steve said. He could almost feel his lion mark on his chest burning. “I was about one of five kids in the whole of New York with a mark.”

“The world has changed.” Nick gestured to the screen. “But the basic motives of people haven’t changed a bit. Give power to a group of people, and one is going to try to use it for good, one is going to hedge their bets, and one group is going to see what kinds of crime they can get away with now. That’s where we come in.”

Nick let the video run again for a few more minutes, and the female voice continued over a backdrop of Avengers sitting in a conference room, working out in a gym, awkwardly enjoying shawarma in a destroyed building. “Being an Avenger is not your typical 9-5 job. One day might be mission briefs, another day you’ll be on the field, and then you might get a day or two off! Evil doesn’t wait for the weekends, so please be assured we will do our best to get you time off.”

Steve’s tail twitched again as he tried to keep a straight face. “This is a very energetic video.”

Nick opened his mouth, but someone knocked on the door to his office before letting herself in. Steve recognized Pepper Potts as one of the panelists from his interview last week.

She smiled at Steve as she came into the room. “Hey there. I’m running a little bit late this morning! I hope that Nick here hasn’t had time to launch into his ‘you need to take this job seriously’ speech!”

Steve raised an eyebrow, but before he could speak up, Nick had already shifted gears, dismissing the projected screen.

“Well,” said Nick, “since Pepper is here now, she can go over her parts of the program. She heads up our Relaxation Planning division.” For a moment, Steve saw the beginning hints of Nick projecting his own mark, ears covered with dark, shaggy fur. A bear, perhaps? He didn’t have much time to ponder before Pepper was handing Steve a folder.

“Go on, open it,” Pepper prompted, even as she turned towards Nick with her hands on her hips, her bee wings buzzing behind her. “And yes, Nick. I do agree that what we do is very serious. But that’s why we also like to make sure our employees have a chance to take a break every once in awhile. Just like the video says, being an Avenger means being on call for many weekends and holidays. We have to celebrate the joy of a Wednesday without an attack on the city or the world.”

Steve opened the folder to find a calendar of events for the month. It seemed as though almost every day had an option for a social event. He hoped he wouldn’t have to go to all of them.

Pepper seemed to notice his discomfort, because she was smiling back at him. “We plan many events so that people can go to the ones that fit their schedules. And you’re in luck, because we have a beach trip tomorrow. It would be the perfect time for you to meet some of your coworkers without the formal trappings of a mission. What do you think?”

Steve looked at the calendar. His tail twitched again, and he made an effort to dismiss it. The holographic lion’s tail faded and faded until it was out of sight. Steve almost put a hand on his mark, as though that would help control it. “Ok. The beach trip. That sounds great.”

“Wonderful.” Pepper’s smile was so genuine that Steve couldn't help but return it. She segued into some more events that he might be interested in and insisted on taking him on a tour of the tower, showing off the cafeteria, the training gyms, and the mission debriefing rooms.

She also kept up a running commentary on his new coworkers, many of them who stopped to say hello.

“This is Natasha,” Pepper said as she introduced a woman with red hair.

Natasha gave a little wave and raised an eyebrow. “Looks like the king of the jungle has come to hang out with us.”

She seemed friendly, so Steve didn’t bother to growl.

“Scott, come here,” Natasha called out. “It’s the new guy.”

Scott said something back, a muffled sound from behind a cubicle.

“Steve Rogers,” Natasha clarified, and Scott came around the corner in a rush, his brown hair a mess.

“They told me Steve Rogers was joining us, but I didn’t believe it!” Scott grabbed Steve’s hand for a handshake.

Steve pulled back by instinct, and Scott cocked his head, looking up at him.

“Hey, sorry, I don’t mean to be so enthusiastic!” Scott held up his hands in an apology.

“No, it’s nothing you’ve done wrong,” Steve muttered. His damned tail materialized again just so it could twitch. There wasn’t a good way to explain to new coworkers that he associated a hand being thrust suddenly forward with a punch, so Steve took a deep breath and stuck out his hand. “It’s nice to meet you, Scott.”

Scott grabbed Steve’s hand and shook it vigorously. Steve’s tail approved.

Pepper moved on through the building, bringing him by the labs next, where he met Bruce and Tony. They were behind a thick panel of glass, working on a project that seemed to involve eye protection, face protection, heavy gloves, and thick aprons.

“Tony’s head of our science department, and Bruce is his second in command. You’ll get a chance to talk to them when they’re not trying to blow something up.” Pepper waved Steve on, her bee wings buzzing behind her, and, with a last glance back towards the lab, Steve followed.

“Of course this isn’t everyone, but you’ll meet a few more tomorrow on the trip. Do you have any questions for now, Steve?” Pepper had paused outside a door. “This is my office. Please don’t ever hesitate to get into contact with me if you need something, ok? Do you want to go over anything else for now?”

Steve shook his head. “You’ve been very clear in your instructions. Thank you. I look forward to beginning my missions as soon as possible.”

“I’m sure you do,” Pepper agreed. “We all knew you’d be the best man for the job. Let’s be thankful we don’t have to thrust you right into the field tomorrow!”

Pepper was saying something else, but Steve’s attention was caught by a man walking down the hallway in the opposite direction. He caught a glance of dark brown hair and a flash of bright colored eyes and then the man was gone, turning the corner. Steve had a sudden wish that Pepper had stopped him to introduce them.

_Maybe next time_ , Steve thought as he thanked Pepper again.

 

*

 

Steve had a lot to ponder as he headed home for the evening. The sidewalk was filled with people walking in all directions, heading home, heading out, just wandering. Steve had found that some things were different in the future, but people not paying attention to where they walked never seemed to change.

These days, half of the people who almost ran into him were staring down at their phones. It didn’t bother Steve much; he was more than nimble enough to dart here and there, avoiding collisions with people projecting dragonfly wings and monkey tails and all levels of fur.

Steve worked his way through crowds with a graceful ease, though he found himself trying to keep his tail and ears from projecting. Old habits die hard, he figured, and took a breath, letting his tail and lion ears project.

By the time he got back to his apartment, Steve realized how exhilarating it was to use his creature abilities without someone trying to call him out and start a fight over it. Some things about his past were nice, but being beat up for his cat mark?

Yeah, that hadn’t been as fun.

Steve unlocked the door, still letting his tail and ears manifest as he walked through the threshold. It was a peaceful release, being able to be himself without a care for what other people might think or try to do to him because of it.

Not for the first time, Steve remembered the first time he had manifested his features in Mrs. Bowby’s fourth grade class. They had been working on a particular math problem; he couldn’t remember the exact equation, but he could remember the curiosity that had overcome him as he tried to figure out the reason _why_ the numbers did what they did.

The next thing he’d known, his cat tail had shown up and twitched, knocking a pencil out of Lisa Gorden’s hand. She’d taken two seconds to assess the situation and started screaming.

When Steve had tried to walk home after class, a bunch of kids followed him, taunting him and jeering. One of them threw a can, but he jumped to the side gracefully, and the can clattered onto the sidewalk as his tail and ears manifested.

Steve fast forwarded the memory, past the part where three of the braver boys had finally circled around him, dragging him into the alley and teasing him for not being fast enough to dodge their punches.

The thought left him in a melancholy mood as he made his dinner. It was only when he sat down to a bowl of spaghetti and homemade sauce that he realized he had made his mother’s favorite comfort dinner. Steve smiled at his noodles.

Sarah Rogers was the best mother he could have asked for. When he came home that 4th grade afternoon, bloody and spitting mad, she had bandaged his wounds and let him vent.

“I hate this,” Steve had said to his mother, tugging at his chest like he could rip the cat mark off. Of course he couldn’t; it was a part of him just as much as his skin, his bones, his being. “If I have to be different, why couldn’t I have a dinosaur mark?”

His mother had laughed. “That would be very unique indeed, Steve. Now come on, my sweet little kitten. I’ve got dinner waiting.”

Somehow, when his mom said it, his tail came out and swished happily through the air. Steve held onto that feeling as long as he could.

In the present day, Steve finished his dinner, bringing his dishes to the sink to rinse them. He’d have to dig through his closet to find a swimsuit and see if he had any sunblock left in the cabinet for tomorrow.

His cell phone buzzed, and Steve looked down to check it. Pepper had sent him a text, apologizing for the late hour and letting him know that if he wanted to carpool to the beach, there were two different groups heading out that he could ride with.

When he texted back his thanks, she let him know that one Bucky Barnes would drop by his house to pick him up at eleven.

Steve hadn’t met Bucky during his tour of the tower, but if he worked for the Avengers, he had to be alright. His tail twitched in anticipation and curled up on his back, a comfortable and furry warmth as he fell asleep.

 

*

 

Bucky showed up at 10:45 the next morning. Steve had been ready for the past hour, and he appreciated Bucky’s sense of timeliness.

Steve opened the door. He had to take a step back when Bucky turned out to be the handsome man he had seen near Pepper’s office the day before. Bucky stood in front of him, his dark hair pulled back in a messy bun, and his bright eyes friendly and warm. He wore a white t-shirt and had black flowered swim trunks on. He waved.

“Good to meet you!” Bucky said. “I’m Bucky,” he added, just in case there was any confusion.

Steve couldn’t help but smile back, and an almost giddy sensation settled in his stomach. “It’s great to meet you, Bucky.” Bucky’s calves were nice. Steve wondered if it was weird to think that, and then he realized he was staring. He looked up to see Bucky hesitating, tugging at the bottom of a wisp of loose hair.

“Sorry for showing up so early.” Bucky looked sheepish. “Are you ready to go? Clint said I should have waited in the car for a few minutes longer.”

“By my clock, you’re on time.” Steve was thankful for the distraction and grabbed his bags from by the door. “See? All set!”

In his good mood, he didn’t even realize he had manifested his tail until Bucky swatted at it playfully. Steve jumped a fraction of an inch. Bucky noticed and stopped.

“I’m sorry!” he said. “I should have asked first!”

Steve relaxed his shoulders, reminded himself that Bucky didn’t mean anything bad by reaching out to touch him. His tail twitched.

“I don’t respond well to people trying to touch me suddenly.” Steve tried a smile with his words, and was rewarded with a grin that spread across Bucky’s face like a sunrise.

Steve liked that smile.

They made it to the car parked outside the apartment building, where two more coworkers Steve hadn’t met yet were bantering about something as Steve put his bags in the trunk beside two coolers and several more bags filled with towels and clothes.

“You ought to let _me_ sit shotgun, seeing as you can just _fly_ to the beach.” The blonde coworker in the backseat stopped and looked over to Steve and Bucky. “Right Buck? Why do I have to sit cramped back here when Sam can take to the literal skies?”

“I called shotgun fair and square, so I’m going to go ahead and use that victory, thanks.” That had to be Sam. He winked at Steve as Steve squeezed into the backseat behind Bucky. “Hey, Steve. Good to meet you. Clint is an asshole in case you were wondering.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Clint shrugged and casually dug his knees into the seat in front of him.

Steve said his hellos as Bucky dove into traffic, and Clint and Sam spent the next hour or so bickering about, well, every topic that came up. Steve learned their opinions on everything from pizza (Clint preferred pepperoni but was ok with anything as long as the cheese was good; Sam swore that pizza with pineapple was an affront to the word pizza) to the circus (Clint maintained that the circus was the best family he’d ever had, and Sam pretended to be hurt by that because _aren’t we your family now?_ ).

It was a good drive. But Steve’s long legs were still crammed behind the front seat of the car, and he looked forward to stretching them at the beach. Sam had shown him his falcon mark on his arm and Clint’s hawk wings above his eyebrows were impossible to miss, but Steve hadn’t seen any marks on Bucky.

He was starting to wonder if maybe Bucky didn’t have a mark. That was silly; Bucky was in the Avengers. Of course he had a mark. And it could be anywhere, like on his stomach or his back or his inner thighs and -

“C’mon Steve, are you going to get out of the car or just hang out here all day?” Bucky’s voice was gentle teasing, and Steve looked out the window to see they had made it to the beach. He’d just let himself be a little distracted thinking about Bucky’s legs.

In his defense, Steve decided, Bucky’s legs were really nice from what he had already seen.

Bucky had popped open the trunk, and Clint and Sam each took one of the coolers. Steve grabbed his bags and was about to offer to grab one of the many remaining bags when he realized that Bucky was taking them one by one, grabbing them with his arms and projecting light blue tentacles to carry the rest.

Oh.

Bucky looked really nice like that. Steve had to stop staring. He’d only just met the guy.

But it looked like Bucky might have caught his glance, because one of his tentacles wound through the air and grazed at Steve’s forearm, a light whisper of a touch.

Steve gasped. Not loud enough that Clint and Sam would hear, but the sharp inhalation didn’t go unnoticed.

“Ah, god damn it,” Bucky cursed. “I’m sorry, Steve. They have a mind of their own sometimes.” Bucky glared at his tentacles and started telling them to behave.

Steve couldn’t help but laugh.

“I’ve given the same speech to my tail,” he admitted.

They shared another smile, only tearing their gaze from each other when Clint called out from halfway down the boardwalk. “Are you guys coming? The water’s way better than the asphalt.”

Bucky grinned and turned to follow after Clint and Sam. “The birdman’s got a point. Let’s catch up, shall we?”

Steve could only nod, afraid that his voice would betray him if he tried to talk right this moment. Bucky’s smile lit up his whole face.

As they walked through the soft, white sand, Steve recognized Tony from the lab. He had his arm around Pepper and even from a distance, his dolphin mark was noticeable, twisted around his calf.

Natasha waved them over, and Steve followed Sam and Clint’s lead, dropping his bags in the sand nearby. Bucky added his bags to the pile, his tentacles reaching out to give Natasha a playful hug. Natasha leaned in with a smile.

“How was the drive?” she asked, gesturing to Sam and Clint, who were discussing the merits of a seagull mark versus a puffin mark.

“Do they ever agree on anything?” Steve asked.

Natasha grinned. “Oh good. You got the full experience.”

Bucky dug through his bag, coming up with a large red beach towel. “Let’s get set up, Steve. And get some sunblock on you!” Bucky smoothed his towel over the warm sand and gestured to the spot net to him.

Steve couldn’t help but smile at the idea that Bucky wanted their towels next to each other. He got out his red, white, and blue striped towel, much to the amusement of his new coworkers.

“I thought you weren’t supposed to use the flag as decoration.” Bucky raised a pointed eyebrow and smiled.

“Do you see a star on this towel?”

“Only you.” Bucky winked, and Steve did his best not to blush.

He couldn’t help the goofy grin that spread across his face.

Bucky seemed friendly with everyone. His tentacles reached in all different directions, waving hello to Bruce and Tony, offering Pepper a little side hug, trying to trip Clint as he ran down to the shore. Steve determined that Bucky was probably not flirting with him.

“Ok, come here and let me get your back, Steve.” Bucky pointed up to the sun. “You’re so pale! I bet you’ve started burning already.”

Steve shrugged out of his shirt. It was funny how it didn’t bother him so much when he was surrounded by his coworkers all displaying their own marks. Steve’s lion ears projected for a moment, perking up with his happiness.

Seeing Steve’s ears seemed to make Bucky happy, so Steve kept them displayed. He spread out his towel, sat down in front of Bucky, and took a deep breath. He couldn’t sunblock his back on his own. He needed someone to help. It might as well be Bucky, right?

Bucky pulled out a blue bottle of sunscreen and poured out a mess of it in the palm of one hand before tossing the bottle down on his towel and spreading it between his hands.

“Ok,” said Bucky, leaning in. “I’m going to touch your back now if that’s alright with you.”

Steve took another breath. It was really nice of Bucky to warn him. He nodded. Bucky’s hands were warm on his back, contrasting beautifully with the cool sunblock. Bucky worked efficiently, spreading the sunblock from Steve’s shoulders down to where his swim trunks began.

“All done!” he announced, and Steve wished for a moment that Bucky had taken his time.

_That_ was a thought he’d never had before.

Maybe he could offer to do Bucky’s sunblock. Steve opened his mouth, but paused and ran his hand through his hair and lost his nerve. “Let me have the sunblock so I can get my arms?”

“Here you go!” Bucky leaned down, scooping up the bottle and handing it to Steve. “Oops! I’ve missed a spot. Let me just --” He reached out and rubbed a thick spot of sunscreen in Steve’s side, and Steve did his best not to blush again. “There!” Bucky looked proud of himself. “Mind getting my back?”

Before Steve could even get out his “yes,” Bucky was shucking off his shirt and presenting Steve with his back. Steve was surprised that he didn’t see a mark on Bucky’s back. There didn’t seem to be one on his chest, or abdomen or shoulders. The realization that it had to be hidden under his swim trunks had Steve fighting a third attempted blush.

To get his mind off of Bucky’s legs, he squirted out a blob of sunscreen and got to work. Bucky had really nice shoulders. He had a really nice back. If Steve had to guess, Bucky had a really nice backside too.

Steve couldn’t prevent the rising heat on his cheeks that time. He was very thankful Bucky wasn’t looking.

“Hey! Are you guys coming to the water or what?” Clint called up from the shore, where Pepper and Tony had already started wading into the surf.

“We have to let the sunblock dry!” Bucky called back. He flashed a lovely smile. “Isn’t that right, Steve?”

Steve forgot how to breathe for a moment. He nodded. He realized Bucky had sat down near him, but not close enough that they were touching. A sudden urge to scoot closer came to mind, and Steve paused. In less than two hours, Bucky had managed to break past his defenses.

“Man,” Bucky said as they sat and watched the others splash into the water. “My first week here? We had three missions, back to back. I barely got out of Pepper’s office before they were pulling me to the quinjet. But you? You get to go to the beach? Actually meet half the people first? I’d be so jealous if I wasn’t getting to enjoy your fine company.”

Maybe Bucky was flirting with him. Steve couldn’t tell, not quite. Bucky could be like this with everyone. Maybe it was just his personality.

“It is nice to meet everyone in a non-critical situation,” Steve agreed. “For the longest time, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do after coming out of the ice. Meeting everyone here helps me feel I’ve made a good choice.”

Now Steve was telling someone he just met about his struggles to fit into the future? Who had he admitted _that_ to before?

Bucky didn’t seem to realize what a big confession Steve had made. He just smiled. “Glad to have you, that’s for sure. You’ve made such a good impression on Pepper. She’s sure to send you in the field right away.”

“Well, I do have a reputation to maintain.” Steve frowned.

“Yeah, well, it’s good to meet the man behind the mask.” Bucky’s smile was so warm and friendly, and Steve found himself hoping Bucky’d reach out and touch him again. But Bucky didn’t, and Sam called for them to hurry up and have a swim.

They ended up in the water with everyone, and Bucky used his tentacles to win the splashing war that ensued.

Later, they all sat on towels, their feet in the warm sand as they ate sandwiches and drank ice cold pop from the coolers.

Steve smiled as he listened to the conversations around him. Bruce and Tony were talking shop about a new project. Natasha teased Clint about him tripping in the sand. He hadn’t gone back in the water to wash off yet, and sand covered his hawk marks on his forehead. Next to Steve, Bucky was making plans to go out on Friday with Sam.

That gave Steve pause as he realized that _he_ would very much like to be making plans to go out with Bucky on Friday. Bucky must have read his mind, because the next thing Steve knew, Bucky was turning to him.

“Wanna join us, Steve? We’d love to have you come along.”

“Yeah, please help me avoid having to spend all evening with Barnes alone,” Sam teased with a smile.

“Yeah, ok.” Steve smiled, his ears perked up and his tail swishing in happiness. “I’d love to hang out with you guys again.”

 

*

 

Steve’s apartment was the first stop on the ride home. Bucky parked in front and hopped out of the car to help Steve with his bags.

“If I didn’t have a car full of birds to drop off, I’d even come bring your bags to the door for you,” Bucky said with a smile and a tentacle that tried to wrap around Steve’s arm. “Sorry! Again!” Bucky apologized, looking mortified as he concentrated. The tentacles disappeared.

Steve couldn’t help but return the smile. “Yeah, ok. I don’t believe you for one second.”

The thing was, he hadn’t minded. He was already thinking about Bucky’s hands on him, about Bucky’s body on him, about Bucky’s tentacles on him.

First things first though, he had to get to his shower and wash off all of the sand that had managed to accumulate on his scalp, between his legs, and under his arms.

“See you guys tomorrow!” He waved to Clint and Sam and Bucky, and they all waved back as Bucky pulled away from the curb.

Steve had to admit, it was crazy how fast twenty four hours could turn a mood around. He’d been excited to work for the Avengers to begin with, but now that he’d had a day with his coworkers, he was looking forward to helping change the world with a group of good people.

Steve was pretty sure his ma would be proud of him.


	2. Chapter 2

Steve’s lion ears twitched as he focused on the sounds around him. His tail swished behind him, in time to the rhythm of the calling animals outside. The next thing he knew, he heard Sam’s voice over the commlink.

“Incoming, Cap.”

“Roger that, Falcon,” Steve replied, automatically. It didn’t matter if it was a first mission or not, some things never changed.

Sam swooped through the trees, holding onto a rightfully terrified man. The man projected a long, flat tail and a duckbill.

“A platypus? Really?” Steve tilted his head to the side.

“Yeah, they’ve been going in and trying to divert part of the river for some nefarious scam or another,” Bucky confirmed through the commlink. “They recruited anyone with a beaver, platypus, or otter mark.”

“Good job out there guys.” That was Maria, Pepper’s second in command. “Let’s get him back to headquarters and get him over to the proper authorities.”

Steve hadn’t had to do much for the mission, but just being out in the field was a thrill. It didn’t hurt that they had been weaving through the forest for the past two hours, hunting down their prey. The chase was kind of Steve’s forte.

It was really nice to have competent back-up in the form of Bucky and Sam. Steve was looking forward to hanging out with both of them on Friday. He was really looking forward to seeing if Bucky might try to reach out and touch him again.

Sam shouted as the man he was holding reared up and tried to attack him with stingers on the back of his legs. Steve pounced into action, tackling the man and bringing him down.

“Thanks, Steve,” Sam said. “I always forget about their danged stingers.”

“Anytime, Sam.”

For the first time in a long while, Steve felt like he was coming home.

 

*

 

They debriefed in Maria’s office. Steve had been about to dismiss his lion ears and tail when he had noticed Bucky looking at him, so he kept the projections and wiggled his tail at Bucky.

Bucky smiled, and the world seemed a little brighter. Steve missed Sam’s exaggerated eye roll and subsequent grin behind them.

“Great work out there, guys,” Maria said as she brought them into her office. “We can keep this nice and simple and get you all out of here in just a few minutes. The mission was a success. Anything you all need to add or discuss?”

“They don’t always go this smoothly,” Bucky reflected.

Sam nudged Steve. “But don’t be thinking you’re a good luck charm or anything now.”

Steve was sincere. “I wouldn’t dare think that.” Then he grinned too. “But give me a couple more tries. You might be surprised.”

Bucky laughed and slapped his hand on the desk. “That’s good! I like you, Steve.”

Steve bit his bottom lip and ducked his head to hide a blush. Bucky said he liked him, and it apparently reduced Steve to a grinning fool.

Maria stood to shoo them out of her office. “That’s really all I needed to go over. Good work. You three are dismissed.”

“Alright guys,” Sam said. “You guys behave. I’ve gotta go get some flight time in before I go stir crazy staying on the ground.”

“You’ve been flying all morning,” Bucky pointed out.

Steve had to nod in agreement.

“It’s different when it’s for work. Imma do some recreational flying. Clint would understand.” Sam waved as he left.

Bucky didn’t waste a moment, turning to Steve with a smile. “Have they shown you our training facilities here yet?”

Steve nodded. They began walking to the elevator even before Steve had said anything else. “Pepper showed me around on my first day.”

“Great,” said Bucky as he pressed the button. They didn’t have to wait long for an elevator car to stop on their floor. “What do you say we go burn off some ‘mission well done’ energy?”

With a laugh, Steve nodded. “Yeah, ok. _I_ was feeling a little tired, but I guess some of us have something to prove.” The words slipped out of his mouth like he was trying to flirt.

Bucky blushed, and Steve wanted to cheer. He had succeeded in his attempt.

“Nah, Steve, I’ve got nothing to prove. Except for maybe that I can do more pushups than you.” The elevator dinged as they passed each floor. “And pull ups. And-”

Bucky started to say something else, and Steve cut him off. “Let’s start with that, and after you lose, then you can see what you want to add.”

“Oh, really? I like the confidence.” Bucky grinned.

They got off at the training floor, passing by Natasha and Clint at the free weights and Scott and a few others on treadmills. Near the back of the training room were some pull up bars. Bucky shot a pointed look at Steve, and, gripping the bar tight, started doing pull ups.

Steve had no choice but to go to the bar next to him and get to it.

They spent the next ten minutes grunting and stealing glances at each other as they counted their pull ups by tens. When it became clear that they’d be there all afternoon trying to outdo each other, they started going for speed, seeing who could get the most pull ups in a minute.

It didn’t take long before they were both lying on the mats, laughing and exhausted. Steve had taken off his sweat-soaked t shirt. He hadn’t been that worn out in a long time. The happy tiredness nested itself in his chest, and he turned to smile at Bucky.

“Thank you.”

“The hell are you thanking me for?” Bucky grinned. “I beat you three times out of six. You ought to be impressed.”

“Ok, ok,” Steve laughed. He hadn’t quite caught his breath enough for a laugh, so it turned into a choking sort of sound, and Bucky looked concerned for a moment. Steve waved off his concern. “I just need to get a drink.”

Steve hopped up to grab his water bottle and drank the last sip. He headed over to the other room with the water fountains to refill it. The sheer exhaustion of their pull up challenge was beginning to fade, and Steve started to think of the next challenge he could issue Bucky.

Because when it came down to it, he really wanted to have a reason for Bucky to stay around him.

Steve was so caught up in his thoughts that he nearly crashed into the doorframe. Bucky called his name and reached out with his tentacles, stopping him just an inch away.

“Whoa there Stevie! Sorry about grabbing at you, but I didn’t want you to get hurt.” As if to show he was sincere, Bucky withdrew his tentacles.

Steve held his empty water bottle and blushed. “Thanks Bucky. I guess I was lost in thought!”

 

 

He was surprised by how naked his arms felt without Bucky’s tentacles wrapped around them. That realization shocked him so much that he forgot to call out Bucky for giving him a nickname.

“So, pushups next?” Steve asked after a pause. He smiled at Bucky, feeling a little shy.

“I dunno,” Bucky grinned. “ _I’m_ feeling pretty worn out now.” He flexed his metal arm. “Tell ya what. I’ll do one armed pushups to your regular ones.”  
  
“Doesn’t count if you’re using the metal arm, cheater.” Steve couldn’t stop smiling. It was nice to have a friend.

 

*

 

The week got busier, and Steve had opportunities to go on missions with many more of his coworkers.

He enjoyed working with Natasha. Her instincts were excellent and her reflexes just as good. The way she projected her spider legs to absolutely terrify their arachnophobic target might have been a bit much, but Steve had to admit it had been very effective at preventing the target from doing more damage.

His mission with Scott was different, too. Scott used his ant ability to shrink down and infiltrate a building. All Steve had to do was provide back up so that no one stepped on him.

And on Friday, Steve had the pleasure of working with Bucky again. When _three_ people had popped up to attack them, Bucky had proven just how effective he was at using his tentacle projections as he took all three down within seconds of each other.

Honestly? Steve had to clap, once he was sure the scene was clear. The three people on the ground didn’t seem as impressed.

“If I’m being honest,” he said as they sat in Maria’s office for debrief, “I’m not sure why I’m needed at all.”

“For the good company,” Bucky replied before Maria could say anything. He winked at Steve.

Definitely flirting, right? Steve smiled back and his tail swished happily.

They left Maria’s office, and Bucky ran his fingers through his brown hair. “I don’t know about you, but I need a shower. See you tonight?”

Steve nodded, looking forward to hanging out with Sam and Bucky more than ever.

The restaurant they ended up at was tiny and crowded, but Steve didn’t complain when Sam took one side of a booth and Bucky scooted in next to Steve, sitting close without quite touching him.

“To a successful week on the team!” Sam toasted Steve when they had gotten their drinks.

“The forty’s loss is our gain,” Bucky agreed, holding up his beer, and Steve’s chest warmed with those words.

With a clink of their drinks, they three of them got to talking about their coworkers and missions and the generally crazy things they had seen over the years.

“Yeah, it was really around the eighties that people started coming out with all of these features and marks.” Sam was contemplative after a sip of his beer. “You can get yourself a graph and see that not too long after, crime went up. People got the idea to use their projections to start defeating the security processes that were in place previously.”

Bucky nodded. “It didn’t take long before the idea of the Avengers was formed, and Shield was created. Security protocols were changing quick, and Agent Carter was the first to really herald using creature powers to protect others.”  
  
“Yeah, uh.” Steve had to scratch the back of his neck as he recalled Peggy, her knowing smile and sharp eyes. “I was friends with Peggy. Back in the day.” It was like letting go of another part of his past when he breathed out. How different things would have been if he hadn’t gone into the ice.

Bucky pressed up against him, and it was a beautiful electric shock running across his skin. Steve almost gasped. The future wasn’t too bad at all.

“I’m sorry about Peggy,” he said as Sam nodded solemnly from across the table. “They had a service at the compound when she passed away.”

Steve couldn’t help but to lean against Bucky, resting his head on his shoulder. After a moment, he realized that Bucky didn’t just have a hand on his arm, but his tentacles were reaching out and pulling Steve in closer, too. One tentacle was reaching across the table and wrapping around Sam’s shoulders, lest he feel left out.

“I was really thankful to get a chance to visit with her for a few months before she passed.” Steve spoke quietly as he remembered. “I was so worried the shock of seeing me would be too much, but it turns out she had heard about me being around already. She chided me for taking so long to see her.” He smiled at the memory. “She was my biggest supporter after my mother. Always encouraging me to use my mark, even before I was…” He gestured to his body. “Littler.”

“What was it like having a mark back then?” Bucky’s interest seemed so genuine, and Steve smiled despite the memories that rose up.

“It wasn’t great. People were really, uh, distrustful of it.” Steve bit his lip. “Not to mention I was this scrawny little kid with a little cat on my chest. They’d meow at me in the hallways at school.”

Sam burst out laughing. “Sorry! When you put it like that, it just seems so surreal.”

“It’s ok. It makes me laugh now. But at the time, I was very self conscious.” Steve paused. “Peggy believed in me the whole while. Knowing that she founded the Shield brought me to the idea of joining the Avengers.”

“And again, we’re glad to have you.” Sam pushed his plate to the end of the table. “Thanks for coming out with us tonight, Steve. It was really nice to get to know you.”

“Sorry for hijacking the conversation and making it about me,” Steve said.

He ate the last few bites of his food and made a note to come visit the restaurant again another time. It was really good.

Sam paid the bill despite Steve’s protests and agreed to let Steve take the next bill. Sam headed out, and Steve and Bucky lingered outside the restaurant for a moment. When Bucky broke the contact between them, Steve found himself reaching out to take his hand. Bucky looked at Steve with something like hope in his eyes, and it gave Steve the nerve to ask his next question.

“Would you like to go on a hike with me tomorrow?” Steve tried to keep his words from rushing out all at once. “I like to go in the mornings, and I would love to have your company.”

The grin that spread across Bucky’s face made Steve go weak in the knees. “Steve Rogers. Are you asking me out on a date?”

Steve squeaked, just a little. His tail was out and swishing madly. “Yes, if you want it to be.”

Bucky smiled, putting his hands on Steve’s hand. A stray tentacle wrapped around Steve’s waist. “I’d love it. See you tomorrow, Steve.”

Steve didn’t trust his legs to work for a good minute after that as he watched Bucky heading out towards his apartment. When Steve finally started back to his own apartment, smiled the whole way home.

 

*

 

Steve changed his t shirt three times on Saturday morning, going from a white v-neck to a green tank top before settling on a gray athletic t shirt. It was also the tightest around his chest. Not that Steve was thinking about what Bucky might like.

No, Steve was still thinking about Bucky’s tentacle mark that had to be hidden under his shorts. He was still thinking about that an hour later when they met up at a nature preserve about a half hour away from the city.

Bucky looked great in a loose fitting tank top that barely covered his chest and dark athletic shorts. Steve kind of just wanted to stare. Bucky saw him approaching and waved.

“Hey! Glad to see you made it out here ok,” Steve said as he got closer. He hesitated for a moment, wanting to go in for a hug and wondering if that was too forward for their first date.

Bucky didn’t let Steve worry too long; he reached out and gave Steve a big, comfortable hug before stepping back. Steve’s skin sang in delight from the touch.

“Shall we begin?” Bucky asked, as he grabbed Steve’s hand and headed towards the start of the path.

The hike was a five mile trek through the nature preserve, just the right length for a contemplative stroll.

“So what brought you to the Avengers?” Steve asked as they walked on the dirt path.

Cicadas buzzed around them, and some squirrels chittered as they jumped from tree to tree overhead, shaking the branches and raining down leaves. Bucky seemed to consider the question for a long while.

“I ended up in a bad spot when I was a teenager.” He spoke with care as he continued. “And, uh, when I came into my mark in puberty, I found out I was really good with guns. I got recruited and…” Bucky trailed off. “Coming to the Avengers was my way of deciding that I wanted a job with a little less bloodshed.”

Steve nodded, slowly. “It’s not completely avoidable, but at least it’s your choice.”

“Yes, exactly!” Bucky smiled. “I’m glad you understand.”

They lapsed into a comfortable silence, holding hands and walking between trees. After the first mile, the trail narrowed out enough that they started walking one in front of the other for awhile.

“How about when you’re not saving the world? What do you do then, Steve?” Bucky asked as they worked their way up a hill.

Steve took a few nimble steps before answering. “Not a lot these days. I’m starting to get back into drawing.”

“Oh yeah?” Bucky sounded impressed. “Well, hey, maybe I could see some of your art sometime?”

“Maybe.” Steve was thankful he was in front of Bucky so his burning cheeks might not be as noticeable. “What about you?”

“Well, work keeps me pretty busy, and I hang out with Sam, Clint, Nat and the others a lot.” Bucky followed Steve up the hill. “And I like to try new recipes.”

“Oh!” Steve had an image pop up in his mind of Bucky chopping vegetables on three different cutting boards with his tentacles. “I bet you’re very efficient.”

As if he could read Steve’s mind, Bucky projected a single tentacle. He wrapped it around Steve’s hand and gave a little squeeze before letting go. “Yeah. Pretty efficient.”

Steve reached the top first, and Bucky was close behind. Over the crest of the hill was a great view of the forest for quite some distance. Bucky grabbed Steve’s hand again as they looked out at trees and brush and vines.  
  
“This is so nice. Thank you for taking me here.”

Steve smiled, pleased with himself for the successful so far date. There was only one thing left to make it even better. Steve turned back towards Bucky, grabbing his hand back and grinning. “Race you down to the end!”

And then he was off, projecting his tail for balance and landing surefooted as he jumped down the hill. He heard Bucky curse behind him before starting down the path after him. Steve kept an easy lead for a good mile, navigating the path with ease. But Bucky learned quick, keeping pace just a few footsteps behind Steve.

Steve grinned as he projected his tail, letting it brush against Bucky’s face as he drew near.

Bucky sputtered as he got a facefull of tail fur. “Alright Steve,” he panted out. “You started it!”

The next thing Steve knew, Bucky was reaching out with his tentacles, grabbing Steve’s ankle with one and breaking his subsequent fall with two more. Steve pulled back suddenly to knock Bucky off-balance. Bucky would have caught his footing, but he stepped on a rock and fell, landing right on top of Steve.

Slotted together chest to chest and lying in the dirt in the middle of the trail, Steve did the only thing that felt right - he started laughing. Bucky was a warm and comfortable presence on top of him, even if rocks and sticks were poking into his back.

Bucky laughed, too. He shook with laughter. Every time Steve thought Bucky was going to calm down and stop laughing, Bucky would look at their situation again and start giggling. It was too contagious - Steve started laughing again. When Steve laughed, Bucky rose up and down with Steve’s chest with every breath.

It only made Steve laugh harder.

“Ha! Ow!” Steve grunted as a rock insisted on making its presence against his spine known. Again. “Ok, ok! I’ve got rocks trying to make homes in my back if we don’t get up.”

With a truly superhuman effort, Bucky managed to stop laughing long enough to untangle himself from Steve. He dismissed his tentacle projections and offered a hand to Steve. Steve didn’t technically need the help, but he wasn’t about to reject a chance to touch Bucky again.

There was just something about him that Steve wanted to wrap himself up in.

“You’ve got some, uh, forest in your hair.” Bucky couldn’t help another bout of laughter. “It’s a whole ecosystem back here. Dirt, stick, a few leaves…” Bucky trailed off as he circled around to Steve’s back and brushed out his hair. “Oh, oops, there goes an ant. He had just moved in, and I destroyed his new home. Sorry, little guy!”

Steve brushed a little more insistently at his hair in case there were more ants. “There? Good now?”

“Perfect, Steve.” Bucky smiled as he came back around. “Just like always.”

Steve couldn’t do anything except blush and smile. Bucky grabbed his hand, and they finished their hike together, hand in hand.

 

*

 

Steve was in the conference room at 7:50 am Monday morning waiting for everyone else to arrive for the 8:00 am meeting. Bucky showed up a minute later. His whole face lit up in a smile when he saw Steve. He made his way around office chairs to give Steve a friendly hug.

“No one shows up early for the 8:00 meeting,” Bucky said.

“You did,” Steve noted with a matching smile.

Natasha nearly busted down the door when she got there.

“I heard that there was a date,” she offered as an explanation. She checked her watch. “We’ve got three minutes. Talk to me!”

Bucky grinned, sinking into a comfortable chair and leaning back. “There’s not much to say. Steve is a perfect gentleman.”

Steve wasn’t sure why a simple compliment had his face burning with a blush, but he wasn’t going think too hard on it; he just watched Natasha and Bucky’s friendly back and forth. Natasha had a spiderlimb out, scraping it against Bucky’s cheek as she asked for more details. Bucky wrapped his tentacle around it, pushing her away gently.

“If you must know, he’s going to take me to the aquarium on Saturday.” Bucky gave a final little nod. “No more details.”

“Oh, good choice, Rogers.” Natasha looked impressed, which Steve already recognized as a not often occurrence.

His tail perked up with pride and was swishing around on its own accord as the others streamed into the conference room at 8:00. Pepper was right behind them, calling the meeting to order.

It was a short meeting, a quick recap of the week before and a tentative framework for the week ahead. After the meeting let out, Steve’s interrogation began again.

“So you and Barnes, hey?” Clint sidled up to Steve before he could get out of his seat. “I gotta say, I should have seen it coming.”

“Only been here a week -” Steve started to say, but Sam was already on his other side.

“Barnes is a good guy, Steve. You can’t mess around with him, alright?” Sam crossed his arms over his chest, but his smile let Steve know he was only teasing.

“I get it. You guys care about him.” Steve looked over to Bucky, who was talking with Scott. He smiled. “I do too.”

“Gag me. It’s too cute,” Clint said, tipping his chair back.

“Don’t play us like that, Clint.” Sam raised an eyebrow. “I know for a fact you’re going to put that line away to use on Natasha later.”

Clint grinned. “Guilty as charged. But seriously! It’s good to see Bucky enjoying your company. You guys seem like a good match.”

“Thanks,” Steve said.

“Does he bring the tentacles to the bedroom?” Clint added, and Sam smacked him on the shoulder.

“Too soon, man. Too soon!”

The thought of Bucky wrapping his tentacles all around Steve had him positively red from head to toe. Thankfully, Clint and Sam didn’t say anything about that.

“Bucky is like our brother. You gotta take good care of him.” Sam had his arms crossed again.

Steve nodded, understanding the gravity of the situation.

“Aw, hell, we’ve only just started to get to know you, but still!” Clint opened his arms for a hug. “I can already tell you guys are gonna be brilliant together!”

Steve took a deep breath and surprised himself with how little tension danced on his skin when he leaned in to let Clint gather him up in a big hug.

Yeah, the bad guys were still trying to beat him up, but Steve was learning a thing or two about the joy of just being able to touch someone without expecting a punch.

He looked across the conference room to see that Bucky was looking right at him.

Bucky smiled.

 

*

 

“I got you flowers.” Steve thrust the bouquet into Bucky’s arms and only just stopped himself from looking down at his feet instead of into Bucky’s eyes.

Steve’s tail twitched nervously as Bucky took the bouquet, looking at all of the color, fragrant blooms.

“Aw, Steve! I love it,” Bucky proclaimed as he brought it to his nose and sniffed. “Oh, wow. They’re really great. Let me get them in water before we go.”

Steve nodded. It had been his idea to go to the aquarium, so he’d felt responsible for picking Bucky up. And when he had left his apartment to get to Bucky’s, he’d realized how empty handed he had felt.

Luckily, he’d come across a flower stand on his way over. It was fate, Steve had decided when he picked out the brightest bouquet. Now, standing in the hallway of Bucky’s apartment and watching him pick out a big glass to put the flowers in, Steve couldn’t help a smile of pride.

Sure, he hadn’t dated in forever. But he was making it work. The fact that it was Bucky seemed to make it so easy. Steve already felt like he’d do anything if it made Bucky smile at him like that.

“There. Perfect.” Bucky stepped back to admire the flowers one more time before grabbing Steve’s hand and giving him a squeeze. “Shall we?”

Steve nodded. “We shall.”

They spent hours at the aquarium, Bucky talking at length about every fish, mammal, and plant on display.

“Have you always loved aquatics?” Steve asked, curious. “You could make those little voiceovers for every exhibit here!”

Bucky laughed. He’d been projecting his tentacles all afternoon, and they danced around Steve’s arms, gentle little touches that Steve had come to crave from Bucky.

“Yeah,” Bucky said. “Who knows if it’s because of my mark, or if my mark came from the interest. Either way, it’s just so fascinating to me.”

Steve nodded. “I could listen to you talk fish all day.”

Bucky laughed. “Well, you kinda did!” He lapsed into a brief silence as they walked past the gift shop, heading towards the exit. “Hey, would you like to come over for a bit? If I’m being honest, I just don’t want you to go home yet. We could watch a movie. I could make cookies, if you like cookies.”

Steve realized Bucky’s tentacles were weaving rather quickly through the air, as if he was nervous. “I love cookies, Bucky.”

The weaving tentacles seemed to calm as Bucky brightened up. “That’s great! I make a perfect chocolate chip cookie.” He paused, grabbing Steve’s hand as they started to walk back to his apartment. “Or if you have a different favorite, I’m pretty sure I could do that too. We might just have to stop at the store for a moment first.”

“Chocolate chip sounds perfect.” As if to confirm Steve’s words, his tail swished through the air happily.

Bucky scratched at Steve’s lion ears, and Steve had to keep himself from purring.

They walked to Bucky’s apartment, and the cup filled with flowers was the first thing they saw as they came through the hallway. Bucky’s apartment was a simple layout, the tiny kitchen tucked right behind the living room and separated by a long counter. A big, inviting couch sat in the middle of the room.

“Make yourself at home!” Bucky waved to the couch as he stepped into the kitchen.

Steve headed to one of the bar stools at the counter. “Mind if I sit here?”

Bucky smiled. “Not at all. I just meant you could pick something to watch if you didn’t want to be bored to tears by me making cookies.”

Steve leaned forward. “I don’t think I could be bored for one second watching you.” When Bucky’s cheeks went pink with the hint of a blush, Steve couldn’t help but grin. “Plus, I can learn all of your tentacle tricks.”

Bucky raised an eyebrow even as he began to open cupboards and pull out ingredients with his tentacles, never moving from his spot at the counter. “Not all of them. Some of them I wait until the third date to show off.”

Now it was Steve’s turn to blush, and from the heat on his face, he was pretty sure Bucky could tell just how much his words had affected him. He was thankful for the counter to provide cover for the growing bulge in his pants.

Bucky winked, bending down for a moment and coming back up with a mixing bowl. He began to cream butter while one tentacle added the cup of sugar slowly and another tentacle pressed the buttons to preheat the oven.

“So efficient,” Steve said. “And mesmerizing.”

“Thanks!” Bucky clearly knew what he was doing as Steve watched a bowl of cookie dough come together faster than he’d ever seen before.

In fact, the oven had only just reached its baking temperature as Bucky rounded out the last spoonful of dough onto a cookie sheet.

“What timing!” Steve was absolutely delighted by the sheer showmanship as Bucky got the pans in the oven and set a timer.

And yeah, he was more than a little intrigued how those tentacles would feel all over his body in a more than friendly way. But this was their second date, and Steve didn’t mind waiting. Bucky was worth waiting for.

By the time the cookies had baked, the apartment smelled like chocolate and what Steve imagined when he thought of home. Steve waited as patiently as he could while Bucky took the cookies off of the pan to cool for an additional minute. Only then did Bucky declare the cookies “delicious!” as he handed one to Steve.

Steve had to agree.

Bucky put a few more cookies on a plate, and they got set up on the couch. Steve snuggled up to Bucky as they browsed movies together, finally settling on a well-rated comedy.

It was so easy to put his head on Bucky’s shoulder, to feel the rise of his chest. Bucky wrapped one arm around Steve’s shoulders and projected his tentacles, letting them settle around Steve’s arms and legs in a loose embrace.

To be honest, Steve didn’t remember most of the movie. He was a little distracted by the way Bucky would shift beside him, the way his laugh rose up from deep inside, the way his tentacles would brush softly on Steve’s skin.

“You look like you’ve got something on your mind,” Bucky said, his voice gentle as it broke through Steve’s thoughts.

“Yeah, a little,” Steve admitted with a grin. He looked up to Bucky. “I was wondering if it’d be alright if I kissed you?”

Bucky’s eyes went a little darker at Steve’s words. “Yeah, Steve. I’d love it if you kissed me.”

Steve’s lion ears perked up with his excitement, and his tail swished from where it was squished between the couch cushions. Steve sat up a little taller, until they were eye to eye. Bucky ran his tongue along his bottom lip, leaving it shining wet.

Steve leaned closer, reaching out to touch Bucky’s face, his fingertips on Bucky’s cheek. Bucky smiled, and it changed the shape of his face under Steve’s hand. Steve imagined drawing Bucky’s face and all of its beautiful expressions. Wanting to tease out another smile, Steve closed the distance between them. It took a moment to slot their lips together perfectly, but then they were kissing.

It was perfect.

Bucky’s lips were soft but unyielding, as though he was determined to enjoy every fraction of their first kiss together. His response was a full-bodied reaction as he reached out to urge Steve closer, wrapping a tentacle snug around Steve’s back.

Steve sat back for a moment when it ended. It was only one kiss, but Steve sucked in a breath like he’d been underwater for ages.

“Wow,” he breathed out, already leaning back in for another kiss.

Bucky met him halfway, capturing Steve’s lips so softly and so sweetly that Steve’s breath came out as a little gasp. Bucky’s lower lip was still spit-shiny and wet against Steve, and his tongue danced on the edge of Steve’s tongue, looking for permission.

Steve gave permission.

He’d give Bucky whatever he wanted with a kiss like that.

Bucky managed to get them closer, somehow. He wrapped his arms around Steve and urged him onto his lap. They sat pressed chest to chest, enjoying each other’s taste. Bucky’s kisses were faintly salt-tinged, like he belonged in the ocean. Bucky’s tentacles wove their way around Steve’s back as if they could read his mind and agreed.

Steve let Bucky explore his mouth, and he tentatively sucked on the tip of Bucky’s tongue. When that made Bucky grin, Steve went a little harder before slipping his tongue between Bucky’s lips. Bucky sighed and closed his eyes.

Steve sank into the sensations, the electricity of their kisses running through his body and tingling down to his toes. Kissing Bucky was his new favorite activity.

They spent some time just kissing as Steve ran his hands down Bucky’s arms, exploring the contrast between the warm skin on his right arm and the cool metal of his left. Bucky wrapped both arms around Steve’s waist. They kissed again, before Bucky broke away gently and smiled at Steve.

“I love this, but I just wanted to make sure you knew I wasn’t expecting anything more when I invited you over.” He licked his lower lip again, which had Steve wanting to bite at it.

Steve forced himself to focus on the conversation. Right. Bucky was checking in, making sure that it was ok to keep going.

“I know. I want this,” Steve said, leaning in again and nipping at Bucky’s lips.

“We don’t have to do anything else,” Bucky emphasized as he shifted under Steve.

Something firm and very large pressed against the fabric of Steve’s jeans, right at his inner thigh. Steve had to hold his breath for a moment, incapable of forming a complete thought at the sudden realization of how very huge Bucky’s dick must be.

“Ok. Yeah. Let’s take it slow,” Steve managed. He focused his gaze to the armrest of the couch as he continued, “You’ll, uh, be my first since I got out of the ice.”

Bucky lit up, his smile glowing, and Steve had to look at him again, to drink in that smile.

“Is that right?” Bucky’s pupils were so black that Steve wanted to tell him to take him now. “It’s gonna be a fucking honor, Steve. When you’re ready.”

Steve nodded. “Meantime, can I touch you?” He wiggled on Bucky’s lap, putting just enough pressure to tease at Bucky’s clothed erection.

Bucky whimpered beneath him, trying to thrust up against Steve’s leg. “Yes, please!”

Steve shifted down Bucky’s lap a little and ran his hand over the bulge in Bucky’s pants. He traced the outline with his fingertips and then palmed Bucky’s cock through the fabric.

Bucky nodded to encourage him. “Feels so good when you touch me, Stevie.”

Steve’s shy smile was accompanied by another blush and the rise of his own erection. He couldn’t have taken his hand off of Bucky’s dick if he tried, and he wanted, needed, to have it in his hand. Steve rested a finger on the button of Bucky’s waistband. “May I?”

“Fuck yeah,” Bucky confirmed, shifting under Steve again to give him better access.

Without wasting a moment, Steve undid Bucky’s pants, shimmying the fabric down on either side just enough to ease out his dick.

Steve wrapped his fingers around Bucky’s cock, watching in awe as he could barely circle his fingers around the base. Bucky’s cock was dark, heavily erect and jutting up proudly. Steve had to fight back a groan at the feel of his velvet soft skin. Just a touch of precum had beaded at the very tip.

“Ah, hell, Bucky,” Steve said, running his hand slowly and reverently up the shaft, fingertips lingering on that spot of precum. “You’re gonna split me in two.”

Bucky laughed. “We’ll go as slow as you need me to go. Look at me, Steve. I promise you we’ll take it by the centimeter if that’s what you need to be comfortable.”

Steve nodded vigorously. “Oh, I’m on board.”

Bucky grabbed his hand for a moment, stilling Steve’s gentle explorations. “Please know I’m serious when I say that if you stopped right this minute and said that was as far as you wanted to go, I’d be ok with that.”

“I believe you.” Steve couldn’t not believe him. Bucky looked up at him with lips reddened from their long make out session, and his eyes were dark with desire, but he was so serious.  “Though if I went home now, I’d have to masturbate for an hour,” Steve joked.

Bucky got a gleam in his eye, and he grabbed Steve’s hand again. “That actually sounds _really_ nice,” he said, reaching for the waistband of Steve’s pants. “You wanna do that for me? Show me how you get yourself off?” Bucky’s eyes were so dark that he could barely see the blue. He was clearly enthralled at the idea of Steve putting on a little show for him.

Steve wanted nothing more than to oblige, already hooking his finger behind the button of his jeans and popping it open, easing down the zipper and hoping Bucky would be pleased with what he saw. Straddled across Bucky’s lap, it was hard to push down his pants, but Steve didn’t want to break contact to get up and move. He shoved his pants down as far as he could, wrapping his fingers around his cock and tucking down his boxers underneath his balls.

“Oh, Steve, you’re perfect,” Bucky said, smiling at Steve to encourage him.

Steve didn’t need much encouragement, not when he could already feel Bucky’s cock twitching its approval against his thigh. Steve ran his fingers down his own dick, playing the the grip for a minute, sliding into a comfortable teasing pace.

“That’s so nice, Steve.” Bucky’s voice was deep and low, and Steve wanted to wrap himself up in it. “Is that how you like to do it?”

Steve managed a nod, his skin already dancing with warmth and trilling its excitement. Bucky _liked_ what he was doing. The thought alone tore out a groan from deep inside Steve’s chest.

Bucky seemed to like that too, his dick twitching against Steve’s thigh again. Another drop of precum beaded at the tip, and Steve only just kept himself from bending forward to lap it up.

Steve’s breath caught as he fisted his dick a little harder, a little rougher. Bucky reached out and held Steve’s hips with a gentle pressure, just enough to let Steve know Bucky was there and enjoying himself. Bucky’s tentacles played lightly on Steve’s arms, a teasing touch that sent shivers down his back when he considered everything Bucky could use his tentacles for.

The room suddenly seemed so very warm. Steve’s chest flushed red as he touched himself, his legs pressed awkwardly against the couch cushions as he panted. A fire burned low in his groin, swirling into a vortex of delicious heat. Steve took a deep breath, holding his hand still.

“Ah, Bucky,” Steve panted as he closed his eyes for a moment. It was too overwhelming to see Bucky watching him, wanting him. “I don’t want to mess up your clothes.”

Bucky laughed, but when he spoke, his voice was wrecked. “Doing laundry tomorrow. Mess it up.”

Steve nodded again and again. He fisted his cock, unable to keep a steady pace. “I’m so close,” he managed. Bucky’s chest rose and fell, so beautifully erratic. “You’re so, so hot. Fuck.”

“Whenever you’re ready, Steve.” Bucky’s words came out in a way that had Steve positively swelling with pride. _He’d_ done that to Bucky, made him so turned on just by touching himself.

“Oh!” Steve’s orgasm burst up, a sudden flare of fire and warmth and perfection. He just managed to cup his other hand in front of his cock to catch some of the pulses of warm cum, but drops slid through his fingers, landing on Bucky’s skin, settling down to a stop on his balls. Steve tried to mutter an apology, but he had to close his eyes for a moment, catch his breath. Try to remember where he was and what they were doing.

“ _Fuck,_ Steve, fuck.” Bucky was panting. He’d taken one hand off of Steve’s hips, and it sounded like he was already on the edge.

Steve opened his eyes to the sight of Bucky tilting back his head as he came, stripes of cum arcing through the air and landing on Steve’s naked thigh.

“Oh, fuck,” Steve breathed as his cock tried to stir for a second round.

They needed to have a third date, and soon.


	3. Chapter 3

The next week of missions kept Steve very busy.

On Monday, he fought Tiger-marked crooks trying to orchestrate a large-scale heist operation.

“So what did you do with Barnes?” Natasha asked over the comms, as if that was a perfectly normal topic of conversation in the middle of a fight with someone projecting huge tiger claws. She ducked and rolled. “He won’t shut up about you and it’s only been about, what? Twenty four hours since he saw you?”

Steve got up his shield to block a claw and somersaulted across the ground, popping up in the group of crooks and helping Natasha take them all down with some well-placed shield bashes. “What, he’s talking about me? If he doesn’t want to say what we did, then I certainly won’t tell you.”

Natasha vaulted over the last crook, spinning him down to the ground and keeping him down with a widow bite to the shoulder. “Ha. Touche, Steve. He said you could be sassy!”

“Sass isn’t appropriate for work,” Steve tried, but Natasha was grinning at him. So he stuck out his tongue.

On Tuesday, he had a day long stake out with Clint that stretched into the late evening.

Around six in the evening, Clint started to talk, breaking the boredom of silence. “So, Bucky apparently thinks you’re the bee's knees, did you know that?” He didn’t wait for a reply. “Because I know that. Because he’s told me about sixty different ways since Sunday.”

Steve glanced over. Clint was waiting for a reply, and trying to hold back the mirth in his grin, but it broke through, and his eyes sparkled. “It’s a good thing. I’m glad to see him so happy.” Under his breath, he added, “all he had to do was _ask me_ and I woulda done whatever he needed.”

Steve decided to ignore the last comment and shrugged. “Well, I think he’s pretty awesome too. I want to take him out someplace nice. Someplace fun.”

“Maybe you guys ought to go skydiving,” Clint said. “Thrill of the potential of death is a great way to bring people closer.” He paused. “Not that you guys need to be closer. No offense, but Bucky really will not stop talking about you.”

They finished their stake out with absolutely no good intel, but at least the target didn’t try to start anything, so Steve counted it as a win.

On Wednesday, Steve ran more intelligence ops with Tony, who didn’t stop talking about how Bucky wouldn’t stop talking about Steve. They got the information they needed, though, so Steve counted it as a win.

On Thursday, Steve had a day off. Bucky was on a mission with Natasha and Bruce. Steve did two circuits of the gym and then ran for an hour, lapping Sam twenty times on the long track. He sat down, panting, and Sam sat next to him.

“Man,” said Sam, downing his water bottle in between breaths. “Bucky will not shut the hell up about you. I think you broke him.”

Steve smiled and remembered the evening he had spent with Bucky.

On Friday, Steve finished his paperwork at the office by noon, and Maria cleared him to go home for the rest of the day. Bucky was still on his mission, and Steve didn’t want to admit how much he’d been thinking about him, so he went home and cleaned his already spotless kitchen.

Steve grabbed his yellow gloves to work on the bathroom next. He was in the middle of scrubbing the toilet when his phone buzzed with a text. He tossed the toilet bowl cleaner in the bathtub and tore off his gloves, chiding himself for how badly he wanted the text to be from Bucky.

It was.

Bucky was asking if now was an ok time to call. Steve had barely finished reading the text before he was punching the phone icon and smiling at himself in the bathroom mirror as if Bucky would see him through the phone.

“Hey, what’s up?” Steve asked. He figured if Bucky was hurt, he wouldn’t be calling Steve, right?

“Not much.” Bucky’s voice had Steve smiling. Bucky sounded so excited, even with just those two words. “I know it’s kind of last minute, but we’re finishing up with our debrief, and I was thinking, maybe we could go out tonight?”

Steve’s smile spread cheek to cheek. “Of course we could go out tonight. Did you have something in mind?”

Bucky’s muffled voice shouted some goodbyes to people Steve couldn’t hear over the phone before he replied. “We, uh, literally got out of the conference room, and I called you before I thought this through.”

Steve might have been standing in the middle of his bathroom with toilet cleaner running down the side of his toilet, but all he could think about was the fact that Bucky wanted to go out with him tonight. A minute ago, he had been wondering when Bucky would be done with the mission and now they could make plans?

“Oh!” Steve left the half-clean toilet to go to the living room. “Let me check the calendar Pepper gave me, see if anything is happening tonight.” Steve grabbed a stack of papers from his first day at work off of the desk. “The mission go ok? I wasn’t _worried_ about you, but I …” Steve paused. “Well, you know?”

Bucky’s laugh was beautiful, like listening to the waves at the beach. “I think I have an idea of what you’re trying to say, Stevie.”

Underneath the “Uniform Requirements” sheet was Pepper’s calendar. “Here we go! Uh, she just wrote that there’s some type of Shakespeare in the Park event tonight and people could meet up if they wanted.”

“I’d be interested in that.” Bucky said. There was a noise in the background like he was crossing a busy street. “Would it work for you?”

Steve nodded before remembering that Bucky couldn’t see him. “Yes. Would you like a picnic dinner to go with it?”

“Hell yeah, that sounds awesome!” Bucky’s enthusiasm made Steve grin. “I’ll bring a dessert?”

“Perfect. See you tonight, Bucky!” Steve’s gaze lingered on his phone a minute after he hung up as he stared at the little picture of Bucky on the screen next to his name.

The bathroom light was still on, so Steve went to turn it off and remembered he needed to finish cleaning. The cleaning was done in record time.

 

*

 

Spring evenings were the best. The warmth of the day still lingered, but the cool breeze of the night wafted through, making walking through the park to find a good spot to sit very enjoyable. They were too late to be very close to the stage, but Bucky found a nice spot underneath a tree. He leaned back against it, and Steve was perfectly content to curl up in his arms, his tail resting on Bucky’s thigh.

Bucky ran his fingers through Steve’s short hair, and Steve projected his lion ears, tilting his head closer.

“I got it,” Bucky said with a smile. He scratched at the ears, and Steve sighed and relaxed closer.

Bucky spread his legs a little wider to let Steve sit comfortably, and Steve’s tail twitched at the sudden movement.

“Mind of its own.” Steve laughed, grabbing his tail and smoothing it.

Bucky’s tentacles were draped over Steve’s legs. “Same,” Bucky agreed.

“I hope you don’t mind sandwiches.” Steve leaned forward to pull the bag of food closer. “Sandwiches and top notch water bottles with the iciest water my fridge could provide.”

Bucky plucked a sandwich out of the bag, unwrapping it and taking a bite. “Perfect.”

Steve raised an eyebrow. “You could be starving after that mission and would have said that about anything I brought.”

“While that is fair,” Bucky said, pausing only to shove another bite in his mouth, “And actually, true.” Another bite. “It’s actually delicious. You’ve got like sliced tomato on here. And lettuce.”

“It’s a date, Bucky! Of course there’s sliced tomato.” Steve pretended to be upset, but he grinned up at Bucky.

“This is how they taught you to date in the forties?” Bucky asked, finishing the last bite of the sandwich. “I’m very lucky.”

“Thanks,” Steve said, his smile aimed at his feet.

“You still miss it?” Bucky asked. His voice was gentle. “Even though you said people were awful to you about your mark back then?”

“Yeah, a little.” Steve thought about it. “I think a lot about my family. The couple of friends I did have. Peggy.” Bucky didn’t press him for more details, but Steve added, “It’s been getting better now. I can’t go back, but, honestly? After meeting you, it’d be really hard to.” He looked up at Bucky’s face to see him smiling.

“I really am so lucky,” Bucky said solemnly, as though Steve had given him a precious gift. “May I have another sandwich?”

They enjoyed each other’s company over the next two hours, watching the show and snuggling on the blanket Steve had brought.

At some point, Bucky got out a little box of delicious chocolates and they took turns giggling like teenagers in love as they fed each other tiny pieces of the different chocolates.

“Oh!” said Steve after a moment, and Bucky tilted his head to look at him.

“Something wrong?” Bucky asked, smiling.

Steve reached out, running his hand along Bucky’s jawline. “You’ve got a little bit of chocolate on your lip.” He rubbed his finger against a spot on the bottom of Bucky’s lips. “Right. There.”

“Did you get it?” Bucky’s voice was low and inviting.

Steve leaned in, meeting Bucky’s eyes. “I’ll check to make sure.”

Bucky’s eyes sparkled, and that was all Steve needed to close the distance between them and suck gently on Bucky’s lower lip, the taste of chocolate mingling with the salt of Bucky’s skin. Steve lingered, well past the point of him cleaning Bucky’s face of the offending chocolate.

They made out against the tree, holding each other in their arms and smiling. Bucky wrapped a tentacle around Steve’s waist and eased him into his lap.

Steve grinned when he realized how hard Bucky was, his cock trapped beneath the layers of his clothes. He shifted discreetly, teasing Bucky through the fabric.

“As much as I’d love to rub up against you,” Bucky said, matching Steve’s grin, “I’d rather take this someplace a little more private. If you’d like.”

Steve couldn’t agree fast enough. The rest of the play forgotten, they gathered up their things and headed back to Bucky’s apartment as fast as their feet could carry them.

Bucky unlocked the door and let Steve in first. Some of the urgency of the moment had simmered down on their walk, and he offered to get Steve a glass of water. “You know that we don’t have to do anything you don’t want to, right?” Bucky set down the cup in front of Steve.

“Oh, I understand,” Steve said. His tail was swishing back and forth like mad and his ears had perked right up. “I want everything you’re willing to give me tonight.”

“Then you’d better get hydrated,” Bucky said as Steve picked up the cup, “Because I’m going to give you everything you want.”

Steve tipped back the cup and drank.

 

*

 

Bucky’s room was small, but the bed was perfect, especially because it was _Bucky’s_ bed. Soft gray sheets where visible under a huge red comforter. Bucky led Steve to the bed, and they sat down on the side, content to start with just simple touches.

Steve ran his fingers along the hem of Bucky’s shirt, slipping a hand underneath. There was something so delightful about feeling Bucky’s firm chest and strong stomach under the fabric.

“Mmm, you look so good tonight, Steve.” Bucky smiled as he toyed with the first button of Steve’s shirt. “You get dressed up like that for me?”

“Of course I did, Buck.” Steve scrunched up the hem of Bucky’s shirt, and Bucky let him pull it up and off. “I guess you might not know this, but I kind of like you a lot.”

Bucky grinned. “I like you too, Steve.”  
  
He leaned in and pressed his lips to Steve’s. Steve knew his tail was swishing through the air, pleased with the way the evening was going. Bucky’s tentacles were languid at the moment, just reaching out and whispering feather-light touches on Steve’s skin every now and again.

Steve ran his tongue against Bucky’s lips, and Bucky lit up as he let Steve in. They kissed as Bucky worked his way down the line of buttons on Steve’s shirt. Bucky broke off the kiss and leaned down to press a kiss to Steve’s lion mark.

“Would have looked great even if you wore sweats,” Bucky said. “You’d make an old t shirt look like it belonged on a magazine.”

Steve laughed. He cut himself off as he realized that he was minutes away from finding out where Bucky’s tentacle mark was. The thought had him positively giddy, like a kid on Christmas.

“What are you thinking about?” Bucky asked, kissing Steve’s collarbone.

Steve shivered and smiled. “Thinking about you. Naked.”

“Oh yeah?” Bucky raised an eyebrow. “Funny thing is, I was thinking about you naked.” He reached for Steve’s belt, sliding the leather from the buckle.

“I could have worn sweats,” Steve pretended to be deep in thought. “Would have made this part easier.”

Bucky slide the belt slowly from Steve’s waist. “Easier, maybe. But there’s something so nice undressing such a pretty package.”

“You might be a dork,” Steve said, playing at solemn.

Bucky laughed and tossed the belt over by the pile of clothes before unbuttoning Steve’s pants and stripping him down to his underwear. “You got me. Guilty as charged.”

It was so easy to get along with Bucky that Steve might have forgotten it was their first time together. But when he eased down Bucky’s pants and boxers and Bucky’s half erect and already huge cock sprung up, Steve paused.

“It seems bigger than last week,” he noted, and Bucky laughed again.

“I haven’t done a thing.” Bucky’s promise was ridiculous, and Steve kissed him.

And when he kissed him once, he had to kiss him again, had to press kisses against Bucky’s perfect jawline and down his perfect neck. Steve sucked at Bucky’s collarbone, and Bucky squeaked and sighed, and Steve looked up at him as though he could never get enough.

Steve worked his way down Bucky’s chest, and he got up off the bed so that he could kneel between Bucky’s legs.

Bucky’s tentacle mark was on his left thigh. Steve ran his thumb over it, and Bucky shivered at the touch.

“Not many people get to see it, do they?” Steve asked. When Bucky nodded, Steve couldn’t help his grin. “I’m so lucky.”

“You’re lucky?” Bucky shook his head. “Listen, pal. I’m pretty sure I’m the lucky one in this equation. Fuck, do you ever look at yourself in the mirror?”

“I close my eyes the entire time I’m in a bathroom.”

Bucky rolled his eyes, but he couldn’t get the smile off his face for even a second. “And it’s not just your body. Anyone can see how important your convictions are to you, how important it is to you to stand your ground. I love it.”

Steve pressed a shy kiss on Bucky’s thigh, because he couldn’t quite respond to Bucky’s lovely comments, not right away. Bucky’s thighs were firm and warm beneath his lips, and Steve couldn’t help but keep kissing them, trailing kisses up his leg until he was bumping up against Bucky’s cock.

Bucky’s cock was just as beautiful as Steve had remembered. Flushed dark and pink, it was begging to be touched. Steve circled his fingers around Bucky’s cock with an almost involuntary shudder at how warm the skin was, how far away his fingers were from touching.

He pumped Bucky’s dick a few times, and the way Bucky closed his eyes had Steve wanting to rut against Bucky’s leg to relieve a little pressure.

“C’mon up, Steve,” Bucky said, patting the bed. “Fuck, even your hand is so lovely, but if you’re still up for it, I’d love to fuck you.”

Steve’s cock twitched in agreement as he stood, and Bucky grinned, pulling at Steve so they could fall into the bed together. Bucky helped arrange Steve on his back on the pillows. He grabbed at the side table next to the bed, coming up with lube and a condom. He put the condom aside for the minute and slicked a finger with lube.

Bucky hovered over Steve, pressing kisses to his cheeks and forehead as he reached down and slow circled his finger around Steve’s entrance. “Gonna take it as slow as you need, Stevie, so you just tell me how you’re feeling, ok?”

Steve nodded, his skin tingling in anticipation. Bucky pressed his first finger in just as slowly as he’d promised. It’d been a long time for Steve, but he remembered how to relax around the intrusion, and staring up at Bucky’s beautiful face was a great way to relax.

Bucky played with his hole for awhile with just the one finger, working the muscle of Steve’s entrance open and going in a little bit, his finger slippery with lube. All the while, he leaned in to make out with Steve. Steve opened his mouth eagerly, wanting every part of Bucky as close as possible.

“Ready for more,” Steve confirmed when Bucky started to press a second finger inside him.

It took a moment longer to relax with two fingers working him from the inside. Bucky’s fingers were a firm presence inside him, and Steve loved it.

Bucky flipped open the top of the lube, adding another mess of it to his hand, and, with Steve’s ok, he slide the third finger in.

“This feels woefully inadequate preparation for the end goal,” Steve said, wiggling his hips to take Bucky’s fingers in deeper.

“You’re going to do great, Steve,” Bucky assured him with a smile. He scissored his fingers inside Steve before angling over towards his prostate.

“Mmm,” Steve closed his eyes for a moment, enjoying the little burst of pleasure. “Very nice.”

Bucky worked him for another couple of kissing-filled minutes before Steve declared that he was as ready as he was going to get, short of Bucky fisting him with his metal hand as prep.

With a raised eyebrow, Bucky assured Steve that they could try it some day, if he wanted.

Bucky wrapped a hand around his own cock and pumped a few times, bringing himself to full attention while Steve watched. He tore open the condom package and rolled it on before coating himself with a generous amount of lube and spilling another mess of it into his hands to rub against Steve’s loosened hole.

“I can already tell you’re going to do so good,” Bucky said, his voice vibrating low with pride.

Steve arched his hips up, trying to convince Bucky to start moving a little faster.

“We’ve got all evening.” Bucky wouldn’t be swayed, not yet. He slide three fingers inside Steve again, and Steve sighed happily at the sudden intrusion.

“I’m so ready.” Steve looked up at Bucky. “Please?”

“Ah, hell, I can’t resist when you ask so nicely, can I?” Bucky put a hand on Steve’s hip and another hand on his cock to guide it up against Steve’s entrance. With a slow, firm push, he began to breach Steve’s most intimate spot.

Steve’s skin seemed to burst into flames when Bucky’s cockhead began to push inside him. Bucky was going so slow, but the head started out large and only got larger before tapering down to the still huge shaft. Steve took a deep breath, blowing it out as he relaxed and let Bucky in.

Bucky gasped as he slipped in, and Steve groaned as the pressure invaded his awareness. It wasn’t quite pain, but it played on the edge of discomfort. Bucky leaned in to kiss Steve, to help him stay relaxed.

“This is going to be the longest part of the evening,” Bucky promised.

“I’m not complaining.” Steve bucked his hips up a little as if to prove his point.

“Careful there!” Bucky held firm to Steve’s hips and seated himself a millimeter farther. Even that little bit of movement had Steve gasping.

“You’re incredible.” Steve didn’t know what else to say, so he closed his eyes again until the almost pain turned into nothing but a comfortable sense of fullness. “Ok.”

Bucky pressed in just a few more centimeters, until his cockhead was fully buried in Steve’s ass. The stretch was unreal, and Steve groaned, wrapping his fingers around his cock, sliding them up and down.

“Oh, Steve, you’re really doing so good, look at you taking all of me like this.” Bucky managed to get the sentence out, but his voice was wrecked, and his words caught at the ends. “Christ, Steve, you’re doing _so_ good.”

Steve’s cock practically jumped in his hand as he tried to get out a full sentence, but all he could manage was, “Please. More.”

“Oh, fuck, Steve.” Bucky breathed out slowly, like he was going to come from Steve’s plea alone.

He adjusted his hands on Steve’s hips, as if all he needed was a moment to catch his breath, and then he nudged forward, giving Steve what he’d asked for.

Steve sucked in a breath as Bucky moved, stretching him to the absolute limit, the fullness a warm fire edging up to scorching flames. He hissed the breath out, grabbing onto Bucky’s hands to ground himself. “Feels so good.”

“You do, too.” With another slow breath, Bucky pressed forward, working his hips closer to Steve’s.

The thick head of his cock dragged against Steve’s prostate, and Steve yelped as pleasure shot through his body. He grabbed harder at Bucky’s hands.

“You ok?” Bucky stopped and held still. One of his tentacles was stroking Steve’s thigh lovingly.

“Yeah. Second. Oh.” Steve’s chest heaved as he adjusted around Bucky’s cock and the edge of pain disappeared into the pleasant sensation of stretching fullness. “Good pain,” he was able to add after another moment, and Bucky’s worry melted into a smirk.

“You ready?” he asked, his grin a promise.

Steve nodded, and Bucky slid in deeper. His shaft moving against Steve’s prostate was a much more manageable burst of pleasure. Steve rode the sensation like a wave and groaned.

“Fuck, Steve.” Bucky panted as he paused again. “Fuck. Do you have any idea how good you look like this, taking my cock in like you were meant for it?”

Steve whimpered from beneath Bucky. He could nod, so he kept doing that to encourage Bucky to keep going, to not stop, not now.

Bucky pressed in another inch, and Steve gasped for his air, closing his eyes to find his focus. His body adjusted again, and that tinge of almost pain gave way to an all-encompassing need to have Bucky in as deep as he could go, to have him tearing Steve in half to claim him.

Steve just couldn’t get the words out to let Bucky know that. He wrapped his legs around Bucky’s waist, trying to draw him in more. Bucky grinned down at him as he took another moment to collect himself before he could speak.

“Steve, you ought to see the way you’re stretched around my cock. It’s fucking beautiful.”

Bucky’s praise filled Steve with another bout of warmth. It curled down to his toes, and Steve licked his lips, as if that could help cool him off. “Please, Bucky.” He barely recognized the deep, throaty growl of his voice, noises that he would have never thought possible coming from his mouth.

Easing in another inch, Bucky reached up and tweaked one of Steve’s nipples gently. Steve’s shoulders shot up in surprise, and he nearly bit his tongue. Bucky pushed forward a second time without waiting, and Steve couldn’t hold back. He shouted, his hips moving on their own as he thrust up against Bucky, impaling himself that final last bit.

Steve saw stars in the best possible ways as his body tried to process all of the different sensations fighting for his attention. The way Bucky was tweaking his other nipple, the way his ass was filled to a straining fullness, the way Bucky’s balls pushed up against his skin. He whimpered again.

“So fucking beautiful,” Bucky repeated, reaching to smooth back the little bit of Steve’s hair that was sweat-plastered to his forehead. “How are you doing, Stevie?”

“So good,” Steve breathed out. He ran his hands along Bucky’s hips, marveled at the way that Bucky was now close enough that he could wrap his hands around Bucky’s ass and squeeze.

Bucky grinned. “You are so good,” he agreed. “Fuck. Give me a moment?”

Steve nodded as he savored their closeness. Bucky’s heartbeat seemed to fill him, pulsing out in waves inside him, and Steve shivered. He shifted on the bed, every movement bumping Bucky’s cock inside and sending another shower of sensation through his body.

“You look like you could get off from just this,” Bucky whispered, suddenly so close to Steve’s ear.

Another shiver forced its way down Steve’s spine, and he bit his lip. His cock twitched between them in agreement.

“Don’t touch yourself, not yet.” Bucky braced himself against Steve’s shoulders. “Let me know if it’s too much, ok?”

Steve nodded. He liked to nod. Everything Bucky did was perfect. His skin vibrated with need, his cock twitching every time Bucky so much as shifted his hips. “Please, yes. I’m ready.”

Bucky’s grin was fucking incandescent as he started to slide out of Steve. Steve wrapped his legs tighter, trying to keep Bucky in longer by instinct. Emptiness radiated throughout, a sudden lack of sensation, and Steve felt nearly numb.

And then Bucky pushed back in, the thickest part of his head pressing against Steve’s prostate once more, and Steve shouted out again as every nerve ending sang out in joyful praise.

Steve’s legs were already starting to shake, and Bucky wrapped a tentacle underneath them for support as he sheathed himself fully.

“So good, Buck,” Steve managed.

Bucky pulled out until just his cockhead remained against Steve’s entrance, and when Steve begged, Bucky rocked back in, a little faster than last time.

Steve gasped.

Bucky grinned, pulling back and sliding back in, a steady, huge presence against Steve’s prostate.

Steve _howled_.

He grabbed for Bucky’s hips, but Bucky’s sweat-sheened skin was too slippery to hold, so Steve fisted the blankets, panting.

Another tentacle started to slither back and forth over Steve’s nipples, and Steve arched his chest into the slippery touch. It was just enough pressure to tease, and he wanted more.

“Look at you thrusting your tits up like that,” Bucky groaned. “Fucking beautiful.” He reached a hand to grab at Steve’s chest, and groaned again. “Can’t even get my hand around your chest. Fuck.”

Steve nodded, because nothing coherent was about to leave his mouth.

Another tentacle started to wind itself around Steve’s cock, and Steve was half aware he was making some sort of whining moan, but it wasn’t like he could _stop_ making that sound, so he just focused on everything that was touching his body.

Bucky fucked Steve in earnest, a steady pace that teased against his prostate unmercifully, his hands still on Steve’s chest. A tentacle teased at Steve’s nipples, flicking against them. The tentacle around his cock wrapped itself tighter, and Steve tried to thrust up into the slippery warmth as Bucky slammed back into him.

Steve’s skin prickled with sensation, the slide of another tentacle running up his arm, tracing the muscles and tickling at his collarbone.

Bucky slammed into him again, and Steve couldn’t remember when he had slide out.

Everything blurred together as white hot heat built in his groin, centering on the thrust of Bucky’s ridiculously large cock going so deep that Steve wasn’t sure where he ended and Bucky began.

“Ahhh!” He screamed out as the tentacle around his cock tightened yet again, the slip of warmth enveloping him in a sheath of pleasure.

One of the tentacles was teasing against his balls, wrapping and squeezing and letting go and the other tentacle traced up to his lips, pressing into his mouth. It tasted like Bucky, only a little more salty. Steve’s cock pulsed as he sucked on the tip of the tentacle and moaned at how good it all felt.

Bucky didn’t stop moving, his thrusts punctuated by his gasps for air. The noises mingled together in the room, the slap of skin on skin, the slick slide of the tentacles moving, and Steve groaning around the tentacle teasing between his lips.

“Fuck, Steve. Fuck!” Bucky’s voice was unbelievably wrecked, and Steve’s skin thrummed with excitement. _He_ was the reason Bucky couldn’t form a sentence. “Look at you,” Bucky said in broken bursts of nearly incoherent words. “Fucking every inch of your skin being touched, so warm, so fucking perfect.”

Steve couldn’t string two words together. He just felt. Felt Bucky slamming into him, trying to split him open from the inside, his cock dragging a gasp out of Steve every single time. Bucky’s hands on his chest, his fingers squeezing the sensitive skin. Tentacles running up and down his arms and legs, playing with his balls, jacking him off in time to Bucky’s thrusts.

That goddamned tentacle teasing at his lips. Steve sucked it into his mouth again, and groaned as the slippery appendage slid against his tongue with the taste of salt. The heat in his groin rose, impossibly hot, and Steve was sure he was about to burst into flames, to incinerate in Bucky’s arms.

He couldn’t catch his breath before the tentacle wrapped around his balls bounced and sent sparks dancing across his skin. Steve moaned, unable to form a word. Bucky’s dick inside him was just too much, his tentacle pulsing on Steve’s cock in an undulating, constant movement.

Vaguely, Steve was aware he was about to explode. He mewled beneath Bucky, a silent plea for _just a little bit_ more _._

Bucky damned near read his mind and thrust into him again, angled right against his prostate. Steve’s world vanished in a shower of stars and white as his orgasm ripped through him. He choked back a sob as cum shot into the air, landing in stripes on the tentacle that milked his cock through the entire orgasm until it had wrung out every drop, and Steve had helpless tears in his eyes.

Steve was boneless as Bucky cried out a minute later, his cock pulsing inside him. Each pulse took Steve right up to the edge of too full and he damned near tried to come again as he writhed around Bucky’s cock.

Bucky all but collapsed on top of him. Neither of them moved as they caught their breath. Steve wrapped his arms around Bucky’s back and held him close. He pressed kissed on whatever skin was nearest to his mouth - Bucky’s neck, his shoulder, the little bit of his face.

“Goddamn, Steve,” Bucky finally managed a full three minutes later.

“Don’t want you out of me, not yet,” Steve replied, his eyes closed.

He was still trying to process everything that had just happened. His throat hurt, like he’d been screaming. His arms and legs were sticky with sweat, and his ass was still filled with Bucky’s softening cock.

“Don’t wanna go anywhere.” Bucky’s tentacles were wrapping themselves softly over Steve’s legs and arms, and Steve sighed, content.

 

*

  
If Steve had thought his coworkers had given him a hard time last week, the meeting the next Monday was beyond ridiculous.

“Bucky was singing in the hallways,” Natasha said like it was an accusation.

“He skipped down to the debrief on our Sunday mission,” Sam added.

“He won’t stop smiling every time someone mentions your name.” Clint grinned. “Which is why I found at least fifteen ways to work you into the conversation.”

“He’s standing right behind all of you.” Bucky’s voice was a low, hot growl, and everyone jumped, just a little.

Not Steve.

Steve grinned, and grabbed Bucky’s hand, pulling him close.

“Yeah. He’s pretty awesome,” Steve agreed, and they shared a kiss, Bucky’s tentacle tangling around Steve’s tail.

“Not in the office!” cried Sam.

**Author's Note:**

> Come visit us on tumblr!!
> 
>  
> 
> [ Glide-thru](https://glide-thru.tumblr.com/)  
> [Mystrana](http://mystrana.tumblr.com/)


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